You Just Started a Diabetes Diet—Here Are the Recipes to Make First (2024)

FAQs

What are the three meals for diabetics? ›

Eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast followed by a substantial lunch and a small dinner — the so-called "three-meal diet" (3Mdiet) — promotes weight loss and significantly improves glucose control in type 2 diabetes, a randomized, controlled trial suggests.

Choose lean meat, poultry and fish. Remove any visible fat and discard the skin from poultry before cooking. Choose low-fat dairy products like semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, reduced-fat cheeses and low-fat, unsweetened yogurts. Poach, steam, grill, boil or bake foods rather than cooking with added fat.

How should a person with diabetes start the day? Eat a big breakfast. Eating a large meal in the morning and smaller meals for lunch and dinner may promote weight loss, lower glucose levels, and decrease daily insulin dose in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a 2022 review.

People with diabetes may need to eat a breakfast that can help balance their blood sugar levels. Diabetes-friendly breakfast options can include eggs with lean protein, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit, and multigrain toast with avocado.

A Mediterranean diet, which is low in saturated fat and high in vegetables and fruit, reliably lowers A1c numbers. Maybe downsize your weight loss goal. Not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight. But if you are, you may not need to drop as much as you think to make a difference in your A1c level.

Try and eat five portions of fruit and veg a day by incorporating them at mealtimes, and swap low fibre carbs, such as white bread, white rice and highly-processed cereals, for wholegrain varieties. You can check food labels when you're looking for foods high in fibre if you're unsure.

A good rule of thumb, Moyer says, is to eat within one hour of waking up. It is optimal for people with diabetes to eat carbohydrates that contains fiber. Carbohydrates that contain fiber are digested and absorbed slower than those without.

What are the 5 worst foods for blood sugar? ›

Drinking plenty of water helps your kidneys flush out excess sugar. One study found that people who drink more water lower their risk for developing high blood sugar levels. And remember, water is the best. Sugary drinks elevate blood sugar by raising it even more.

Monitor Your Blood Sugar Level

Checking your blood sugar first thing in the morning should be your priority when you are living with diabetes.